Mostly Californian Cuisine...

Food Memories

Nov 13, 2015

These beautiful salt shaker and pepper grinder are made out of full dark wood, carved into shape. Outside of the small stopper at the bottom of the salt shaker there is no plastic anywhere.

I have no idea how old they are, they could be old or could be a vintage styled design made more recently. I found them in an consignment and donation store to help wealthy old people downsize when they leave their homes. There are always beautiful items there.

I wanted these because they are like the shakers and grinders from restaurants I went as a teenager with my parents. For birthdays and special occasions, we would dress up in suits jackets and skirts, proper shoes, my dad may have worn a tie, to go to restaurants that were dimly lit, with wooden panels separating the tables, and booths with faux leather seats. We ordered steaks, pastas, and one dish that stands out in my mind to this day -fried camembert with cranberry sauce.

Those were days when nice restaurants were still formal, waiters wore white collared shirts and they didn't make small talk. What they did was grind pepper for you.

I off course don't need either of these items. There are all-in-one salt and pepper grinders from the supermarkets in little plastic bottles that are tossed when they the contents are used up.

Having a working kitchen means the kitchen is somewhere you like to be. A comfortable environment. And if you are like me, new things, beautiful things inspire, motivate and well.. make me happy. Shopping makes me smile.

So as you start out, or as you go along to making a full kitchen, buy a treat once in awhile: a pretty ceramic 60s salt shaker shaped like a rabbit at a thrift store, an expensive piece of equipment at a fancy kitchen place or just a new wooden spoon at the supermarket.

Don't buy more than one or two pieces. When you buy everything at once, not only is it overwhelming, you won't have the opportunity to experience the pleasure when you slowly build a nest you can go to.

After cooking a lot, you deserve a present or if you haven't for a while, maybe a new item, a new toy will motivate you to return.

Oct 25, 2015

Who knew a rice cooker could be used as a pot? Just fill it with hot water, click the on button, and once it boils, it cooks lettuce, eggs, and Dolls instant noodles (separately by the way).

My girl, and designer Fahmina had suggested instead of buying lunch, I could bring something and use her small kitchen at her store in Topanga Canyon.

She texted, "Where r u from? Singapore or Hong Kong? I am obsessed in loove w that side of the planet food."

A small kitchen, something local, easy to cook.

Dolls instant noodles of course. A staple in Hong Kong for every occasion. Something to have late at night after going out or a long game of mahjong. Something to have when friends were over, and everyone want to stay in. Something to have when there was nothing left in the kitchen or someone had never learned to cook.

But for me, it was the one thing I had to have while catching a boat to Cheung Chau, an Island off Hong Kong, on it an old fishing village, with no cars, and a pirate cave.

It took an hour on the slow ferry, and my cousins and I would go over to the food counter, and ask for the noodles, and think we were so grown up, ordering food ourselves.

Those were Fook/Lucky Brand noodles, not Dolls, but just as good.

The sailor, with his blue uniform and white trim, doubled up as the tuck shop keeper, turned on the electric burner and placed a kettle on top (it was on a boat!), heated up the water, and poured it into a styrofoam bowl where the noodles had been placed.

He would then put a piece of ham or pre-cut spam on top, and if we asked, an already fried egg with the edges brown and crispy that he kept in a red plastic box.

When it was done, the white opaque plastic lid would be pressed on tightly, and we walked back at a speed that was specific to balancing noodles on a boat. We had to be quick so not to burn our hands, but not run because the boat was moving, and we didn't want to spill or drop our bowls. It was always a relief when we reached the tables. We sat, waiting for it too cool, and when it did, our treat complete.

In Fahmina's very small kitchen, we too had to improvise. There wasn't a pot, but there was a burner.

There was a rice cooker that she said we could cook in, despite being slightly skeptical, I tried.

We picked the beef flavored, and the sesame oil noodles.

Once the water in rice cooker heated up the water to boiling point, the lettuce cooked as fast as in a pot. The noodles softened, and the eggs which we poached, worked out fine as well.

In fact, the eggs came out at the optimum consistency so when the egg yolk was broken, it covered the noodles.

Then I discovered we had no bowls and no chopsticks.

We found two glass jars and two forks.

That would work.

I scooped up the noodles, waited for the eggs, and when they were ready, I placed the ham, pushed them into the soup, so they warmed up. We took the jars out to a small table, where the already boiled lettuce with a side of oyster sauce were. Unlike on the boat, we walked at a normal pace, then poured ourselves some San Pellegrino, with a twist of lime.

We had a picnic outside the store by a tree.

Had she not suggested it, we would have had another coffee, another sandwich.

Oct 21, 2015

About two years ago, a friend from London visited. He had never experienced Halloween, so we bought costumes, carved pumpkins, and of course had to make a treat for my son's preschool party.

This teeth looked about the most simple, making some cookies, ready made icing, marshmallows.

The first small lot looked perfect. I found them inedible as they were so sweet, but hoped they would be more popular than the birthday cake I made that the kids refused to eat.

We then decided to experiment and made a giant cookie. At first it looked great, adding the rotten teeth but we had increasingly elaborate ideas of decorating it (we may have been drinking) but obviously not being very creative just added more and more icing and a bit of jam as plaque. We also made an apple. Not sure if this large one we experimented with went well. I guess it's a matter of personal taste.

Anyway, if you're starting out in your cooking journey, maybe try and make something special for an occasion, or just something you can make with your friends.

Remember, look for the simplest recipe, and not the prettiest. If it's for an event just be prepared to buy the treat if it doesn't work out.

DON'T TELL ANYONE YOU'RE MAKING IT. So there is no pressure.

Most of the time, things you see online are made by professionals, or people who only posted their perfect cake after having 5 disasters. Remember that.

My favorite supermarket is closing. It's going to be a huge adjustment for me to find another one. It was the right size that allowed me to pop in and pop out very quickly, and had the best meats out of all the others market, including Bristol farms. It had a huge selection of organic produce or ones that didn't have any coloring and flavoring. I liked the taste as it was more British and less salty and sweet than most American products.

I bought a lot of stuff, but I know it will run out soon. It makes me sad.

While in Guatemala, I asked my house mom to teach me to make tamales. In Sri Lanka, I learned to make hoppers in a hostel on the beach. My parents live in Australia, I grew up in Hong Kong, and now I live in LA. The recipes on this blog are inspired by all I have come across, with the hope that I would create something new.